BOSTON – Gov. Deval Patrick on Monday told a group of protesters from Cape Cod that he would ask federal regulators to shut down the Pilgrim nuclear power plant in Plymouth.

After a quick meeting with Patrick, protest organizer Diane Turco of Harwich said the governor had told her he would write to the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission to request Pilgrim’s closing.

“I’d rather we didn’t have it. And I’ve expressed that publicly before,” Patrick told reporters as he headed to an event Monday afternoon.

He also said, “It doesn’t matter what I think.”

In May 2012, the then-40-year-old plant received a 20-year license renewal from the NRC.

“We would only act to shut down the plant if we identified significant and pervasive problems that could call into question the facility’s safety,” NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said in an email. “We have not seen issues of that magnitude at Pilgrim.”

Sheehan said the plant has received additional oversight because of unplanned shutdowns, including some with complications.

In a March 4 letter, NRC Regional Administrator William Dean said the commission would hold a public meeting to review the plant’s performance.

A lobbyist for Entergy Corp., the plant’s owner, did not respond to a request for comment.

State Senate President Therese Murray, who has called for the creation of a national nuclear waste storage area, said she wished federal regulators had listened to her concerns.

Without a national nuclear waste area, each plant site holds its spent fuel rods, even after it closes down.

“We can’t close Pilgrim because we don’t have the authority to do it,” Murray said.

She also noted the plant’s positive aspects in her district.

“Six” hundred and fifty people work at that plant,” Murray said. “It produces electricity.

“Am I concerned about it? Yeah. I fought against Pilgrim, too, and I fought against keeping the rods stored in a pool, and I’m fighting with NRC for 20 years.”

Murray said the NRC “should have listened to our concerns before they gave the license.”

State Sen. Dan Wolf, D-Harwich, who joined in the rally at the State House on Monday, said a release of radiation from Pilgrim would be a catastrophe.

The Environmental Protection Agency has oversight of the plant, which is 18 years overdue for a permit, said Wolf, who also said the state also has oversight on emergency management and the use of water from the bay to cool the plant. Wolf said there is a “legitimate claim” that the plant should start using a “closed cycle” system.

Page 2 of 2 - The EPA was not able to provide additional information when reached for comment.

“We think that if that plant was brought up to modern standards, modern environmental and energy standards, that it might not be cost-effective and the decision might be made to shut it down sooner rather than later,” Wolf said.